Lots of news and upcoming shows!

Greetings, everybody! Staying cool? No, not in the sense of being hip. We know you're all "cool." But temperature-wise. You haven't all melted, have you? Not if you're reading this, we suppose. Which is good. Because we have news for you. Some of which might even involve complete sentences. We have a couple of things to make you aware of and a couple to remind you about, which will now be presented chronologically.

1) Ryan has agreed to begin hosting a monthly late-night Open Mic at Busboys and Poets in Shirlington every last Friday of the month. This ALL AGES event will feature a few songs from Ryan before becoming a platform for music, comedy, poetry, dance, acting, magic, whatever it is you think others may enjoy seeing you do. If you like to get in on the ground floor of things, come out to Busboys this Friday, July 29, for the very first one! The sign-up will open at 10pm and the show will run from then until midnight. Arrive early to sign up if you want to perform. [Facebook Event Page]

2) This Saturday, July 30: Ryan, Brian, and our new skinsman John Werthmann are proud to be participating in the 3rd Anniversary show of the VA-based activism group A Drop In The Ocean, at Bull Run Unitarian Universalists in Manassas, VA. The show, which is stuffed full of great music, will include the three aforementioned Beanstalkers playing a scaled down acoustic-ish set. Headlining the show will be KOJI and Jeff Pianki who are on the Amplify Peace tour to raise awareness about ethnic violence in Africa. Please visit this link to learn more about this great cause, the show, and the organizations that will benefit. Feel free to purchase your tickets in advance for 2 dollars less than they'll be at the door, which opens at 6:30. ALL AGES. [Facebook Event Page]

3) We are really getting excited about our BIG headlining show at the Black Cat Backstage next Tuesday, August 2. It will be BIG, and we all know BIGGER is BETTER. But this particular room isn't TOO big, so please consider purchasing your tickets in advance through the link below or at the club. We would hate for any of you to miss out on this great night, which will also include the stellar Chris Mills from NYC. Please click on his name in the box down below and check out some of his great songs before then. Doors at 8pm. ALL AGES. [Facebook Event Page]



4) Thanks again to everyone who voted in the HFStival contest and got us into the Top 9. Many of you have shared how much you enjoyed being able to help in such a tangible way and asked what you can do in the remaining rounds. There will be 3 different semi-final shows, each featuring three of the 9 acts, and each producing one finalist, as decided by HFS judges. Those 3 finalists will perform once more for the judges, to produce a winner. Mark your calendars: our semi-final show will take place Saturday night, August 13th at Wild Willy's in Annapolis, MD (2072 Somerville Rd. Annapolis, MD 21401). We'd love to have as many of you as possible come out and cheer us on, so we are planning a few special events surrounding the show and we'll be getting back to you soon with more details on how you can be part of the festivities. Please don't hesitate to get in touch if you'd like to lend a hand.

Plenty of opportunities for you cool people to come in out of the heat. We can't wait to see all of you!

Love always,
The Beanstalk Library

On to the next!

Ahem, tap tap tap, attention:

The Beanstalk Library is now a top 9 act in the 2011 HFStival Battle To Break Out.  Thank you, thank you, thank you to anybody and everybody who helped get out the vote.  We owe you one.  We owe you a big one!  We'll be in touch to let you know when you'll be able to come cheer us on in the Finals.  In the meantime, we look forward to seeing you at the Black Cat on August 2nd.  Tickets can be purchased here.  Talk to you soon!

Love always,
The Beanstalk Library

HFStival Voting and Black Cat Show

Hello friends,

We hope you all are well and fancying the summer so far. We're spending much of it working on a new record that we're really very excited about. Hopefully, it will be ready for you to spin and enjoy by the end of the year. But you know how these things can go. ;-)

We know many of you keep in touch with us in other ways too, but there are a couple of big items to make sure you are aware of if you aren't already.

HFStival Battle to Break Out
The Beanstalk Library is one of 40 finalists in a contest to open the mainstage of this year's HFStival, September 17, at Merriweather Post Pavilion, which will also include The Avett Brothers, Flogging Molly, Dr. Dog, and others. We don't usually end up competing in too many "battles," but we thought this one was too good to pass up. So we would like to encourage you to help us.

In this round, the 40 bands are being whittled down to 9 by a voting process that YOU can participate in by visiting the contest's site, checking the circle next to The Beanstalk Library (listed under T, not B) and clicking the "Vote" button. Voting will remain open until one week from today, Friday July 8, at Midnight EST. Wherever you are in the world, it would mean so much to us to have you vote and to spread the word among your families, friends, co-workers, and other spheres of influence. Thanks in advance and we'll keep you posted.

Black Cat
On Tuesday, August 2, the band will headline the Black Cat Backstage (1811 14th St. NW, Wash. DC). We're excited to be back east of the river at such a beloved, storied institution playing an ALL AGES show. Opening the show will be an amazing singer and songwriter named Chris Mills. We highly recommend you check out his latest release 'Heavy Years: 2000-2010' and get familiar with his excellent music before the show.

The Black Cat Backstage is a fairly small venue so please consider purchasing tickets in advance. Facebook users can RSVP here. This is going to be a great night of music--don't miss it!

It's been very nice chatting. Stay cool. Take care of yourselves and yours and we'll be back in touch soon.

Love always,
The Beanstalk Library